Improvement in cotton-cleaners



1. RALSVTUN.

ZISheets--Sheet Guion-Cleaners.

No. 135,586.V

Patentd Feb. 4,1873.

INVENTOR AM PflorninHaGnAPH/cvca Mx (osaoRnEPoah-ssl.)

OMM?

UNITED STATES 'PATENT OFFICE.

JOE RALSTON, OF BRENHAM, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF PART INTEREST TO DARIUS S. SKINNER, NATHAN B. HAIL, AND EDWARD J BICKNALL, OF

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.

IMPROVEMENT IN COTTON-CLEANERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 135,586, dated February 4, 1873.

To all whom it 'may concern: A

Be it known that I, JOE BALSTON, of Brenham, in the county of Washington and State of Texas, have invented a new and Improved Cotton-Cleaner; and I do hereby declare that the following specification, taken in connection with the drawing making a part of the same, is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved cotton-cleaner, showing the outside connections. Fig. 2 represents the connections on the opposite side. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevation, and Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view.

My invention relates to machines employed in cleaning cotton preparatory to passing through cottongins heretofore used; and it is designed to enable such machines to more thoroughly extend the iibers and remove from or clean the cotton of superfluous matter before it reaches the gin, that in removing the seed therefrom the full length of the staple may be preserved and its value enhanced. My invention resides principally in what I will term a breaker in connection with a cleaner for more readily attaining the result required.

In the drawing, similar letters of' reference indicate corresponding parts.

Ais the' breaker, and B the cleaner. In some respects they are similar, each having a case or framewith two sidewalls, and open at the top and ends. They are also provided with endless aprons, arranged on rollers in the bottom of said cases, one of the rollers of each of which is pro vided with a ratchet-wheel, O, for imparting motion to the apron. D is a toothed cylinder, placed at one end of the breaker A above the apron to take the cotton therefrom and deliver it into the case of the cleaner B, the said end of breaker A in which it is placed being suitably arranged and so attached to said cleaner as to bring the teeth on the delivery side in the proper position for that purpose, the teeth being inserted in spiral lines of onehalf the diameter of the cylinder, and inclinin g toward the apron when in motion, one spiral line of which contains an additional tooth alternately be tween the others on that line, which addition` al teeth are inserted in a direction inclining reverse to the other teeth, thereby bringing the cotton that may come between the other or carrying teeth into such position as to be taken up by them. The movement of the cylinder at the under side is opposite to that ot' the apron, and the cotton is, consequently, taken from the said apronin advance of the point where the apron passes under the end roller thereof. E is a toothed equalizing-bar, placed in advance of the cylinder D across the apron between the sides of the breaker A, with the teeth projecting downward, and arranged to be adjusted to or from said apron. It is intended to equalize the delivery of the cottonfrom the apron to cylinder D. Fis a similar toothed bar, placed ata suitable distance from the cylinder D,with its teeth standinghorizontally, and used for the purpose of breaking open the cotton-pods and'expanding the cotton as it is carried by the said cylinder, and delivered into the case of cleaner B. A t the same time the cotton is freed from heavy matter, whichdrops to the apron of breaker A, and is carried under eylin der D and delivered over the end roller into any receptacle. In the delivery the cotton falls upon the apron of cleaner B, and is carried by it to the toothed plates G, called cotton-saws, which saws are located at a suitable distance above one end of said apron nea-r the center of the machine. I use twenty-six saws, more y or less, accordingl to the width of said cleaner.

H represents ribs or clearers fastened to a cross bar, and arranged to be .adjusted near the cir cumference of the cotton-saws G in the spaces between said saws. They are made curving, and flattened toward the lower end, and extend nearly to the apron under said saws, leaving the saws free to turn. I is both a toothed stripper and a fan, placed over the cottonsaws G, with the teeth set on the outer edge of the wings or paddles to pass on either side of said saws. The movement of this fan-stripper, at its under side, being in the same direction with the upper side of the cotton-saws Gr, and with an increased velocity, thev teeth thereby remove the cotton from said saws, and it is propelled by the current of air caused by said fan-stripper into the central chamber of trunk K. The cotton-saws G are made with teeth inclined and in sets, having a plane between each set. In the arrangement ot' said saws on their sha-it the teeth of one is brought on a line with the plane ofthe next, and alternately throughout.

When these are in operation the cotton is taken from the apron and drawn between the ribs or clearers II and hanged ribs M, separating it from any hulls or superiiuous matter that might not be removed by breaker A.

L are thin strips of metal arranged between the upper side of the cotton-saws.y They are curved and fastened at their ends, one being secured within the circumference of said saws by a set of short ribs or supports, M, tted for that and other purposes. The opposite ends, extending out from between the upper side of the saws, are secured to a cross-bar. By this arrangement the cotton, whenvforced from the saw-teeth, is conducted through the passage leading to the central chamber oftrunk K. M represents inclined flanged ribs, which flanges form a recess7 and are screwed to a cross-bar, and are so formed and arranged to separate,hold back, and conduct downward to ribs or clearers H any hulls or superfluous matter, which is then conducted by ribs H upon apron of cleaner B at a point near that which said apron turns over the end rollers, and in advance of the lower ends of ribs H, thereby preventing such superfluous matter from remixing with the cotton coming forward onsaid apron, and which is thence carried upon said. apron over the end roller into any receptacle. N is a toothed roller, situated above the ribs or clearers H, in advance of the cotton-saws G and ribs M, for the purpose of .obviating the collecting of a surplus of cotton over the said ribs or clearers, and removing any surplus up y on the saws. The cleaner B is also provided with two blowers, O and P, for extending the ibers and at the same time removing any fine ust.

The current of air coming from blower O intei-sects the current from the fan-stripper I at the entrance of the central chamber of trunk K. At this point of intersection, by the action of the two currents, the bers of cotton around the seed are extended and freed from. any ne dust or sand they may contain. The liner dust, passing through the slatted wall of the central chamber ot'- trunk K, is drawn through openings leading to blower P, and forced through the discharge-pipe at the top. The heavy sand falls between the bottom slats oi' said central chamber into the apartments underneath, which apartments are provided with doors to be used in removing what may col-l lect. The aprons being made of slats riveted across endless belts, the width always remains the same; and to guide said apron from the sides of the cases the center inside belt turns in two iianged rollers.

The ends of the aprons may be raised or lowered beneath the cylinder D and. cotton-saws G by screws operating with end rollers. The opposite end rollers are also adjustable in tightening the said aprons.

The said cylinder and cotton-saws are oper ated by belts from any suitable power; and one end {of their shafts is furnished with a crank for working a pawl-lever, R, by connectA ing-rod S. This pawl-lever has two pawls, T and U, one above, the other below, its fulerum, Working in the teeth of the ratchet-wheel C 'for driving the aprons.

The rod S is vconnected to the crank in a radial slot, so that its movement may be made greater or less for varying the speed of the aprons.

The cotton being cleaned and extended, it is delivered at the further end of trunk K.

I am aware that hooked-tooth cylinders and cottonsaws for conveying cotton are not new and I, therefore, have no desire to claim themspecially as a part of my invention.

I claim as new and desire to secure by Let. ters Patent of the United States 1. The endless apron of cleaner B, in combination with the saws G, clearers H, roller N,

,ribs M, substantially as described.

2. The endless apron of cleaner B, in combi- 'nation with the saws G, stripper I, conductor `L, and ribs M, substantially as described.

3. The endless apron of cleaner B, in combi 'na'tion with the saws G, clearers H, ribs M, roller N, stripper I, conductors L, blowers O and P, and trunk K, all as herein described,

and for the purpose described.

JOE RALSTON. lVitnesses:

B. F. SADLER, W. H. WRIGHT. 

